Seahawks trust index entering Week 6: Byron Murphy leaps, Sam Darnold falls

The Seattle Seahawks have several issues to correct before taking on the Denver Broncos at Mile High in their Week 6 game. This Thursday night, the Seahawks can answer a lot of questions, but none may be more important than: Who do you trust?

Before anyone presses the panic button, let's remember that Seattle started last year at 3-2. In 2025, those losses were by a total of seven points, through a variety of self-inflicted wounds. A tough loss to San Francisco was fueled by Seattle turnovers. Then, against Tampa, we saw a late-game collapse and a last-minute failure to salt away the win. Sounds familiar, right?

Here we are again. Last season, the Seahawks were on the road against a good team to set things right. The Jaguars were 4-1 and made the postseason with a 13-4 record. This year, Seattle travels to Denver. Their only losses are to the Chiefs and -ugh - the 49ers. Facing his good buddy Sean Payton will be a solid challenge for Mike Macdonald and his team. So, let's see who we trust this week.

The Seattle Seahawks alphas

Byron Murphy II, DT

When you see this stat line from a Seahawks game: three tackles for a loss, three QB hits, and two sacks. Now you just know the Big Cat ate that day, right? But surprise, surprise, that was Byron Murphy II's handiwork on Sunday. 12s already know, but Byron Murphy continues to establish himself as a major force among interior linemen of the league.

The mainstays

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR

I heard he dropped a pass late in the game. Is that right? Yeah, I'm being a bit facetious here. But at least twice during the broadcast, it was mentioned that he had his ankle taped after his 16-yard run in the second quarter. I believe the exact phrase was, "heavily taped."

So I'm cutting the guy some slack for not making a leaping grab on a bad ankle after another off-target pass from Sam Darnold. Was it a bad pass? No, but it wasn't a good one, either. To his credit, JSN took all the responsibility for the miss. Remember, he caught five balls for 102 yards and a score. Second-best was Holani with four catches for 24 yards. Without JSN, this game was already over.

Jason Myers, K

All Myers did was go five for five on field goals. None of them were gimmes, either. His shortest was a 40-yarder, which knotted the game at 29-all for the Seahawks. In a game when the offense did almost everything they could to hand the game to the 49ers, Myers put 15 on the scoreboard. He was easily Seattle's most reliable weapon for the day.

Nehemiah Pritchett, CB

It can take time to adjust to the speed of the NFL. That's true, even if you came from a big-time program like Auburn. But Pritchett clearly belongs with the alphas now. Yes, I've listed him as a mainstay, and that might seem odd for a guy who got just four snaps on defense. But who should have been on Mike Evans, Jobe, or Pritchett? 12s know the answer.

The fast risers

Christian Haynes, RG

Seattle's third-year guard is starting to pull away in the battle to supplant Anthony Bradford. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated him the Seahawks' best player on offense. In particular, Haynes got the nod for opening holes in the running game. They may have just been gopher holes, but at least they were there.

The proving ground

Brian Fleury, OC

We're just five games into the season, so no one is seriously calling for a change at offensive coordinator. Mike Macdonald famously didn't agree with Ryan Grubb's offensive philosophy in his first year as head coach, yet still waited until year-end to make a change. There's no reason to think he's even considered a change now. But Fleury needs to get the offense on track, and soon.

The slipping grip

Josh Jobe, CB

Oof. Yes, Mike Evans is a first-round Hall of Famer, but that was still an ugly game for Jobe. Giving up 98 yards and a touchdown is bad. Allowing a perfect passer rating of 158.3 is beyond ugly. If it was just this game, that would be almost understandable, but Jobe has gotten worse in every outing since Week 1. No wonder people are floating trade ideas for Seattle.

George Holani, RB

I swear on a stack of NFL rule books, this was not an intentional pun. But it sure does fit. Before the game against San Francisco, Holani was averaging 3.2 yards per carry this year. He managed to bring that down to 2.96 yards. That's bad enough, but now he's fumbling in his own end zone. Holani just put a chock under the door for the competition.

Sam Darnold, QB

No, I am not saying that Sam Darnold will be benched. I don't even think he should be benched. But as this is the trust index, ask yourself, 12s: do you trust Darnold to win the game right now? I'm sure many, if not most, 12s will still say yes. We know Mike Macdonald will still say yes. And, ummm... you might not want to ask Ernest Jones, because you know what answer he'll give you.

Darnold threw 20 interceptions last season, then cleaned it up and was nearly flawless through the postseason run to the championship. Zero turnovers. So yes, the Seahawks can get through this. But what bothers me more than the interceptions is that he doesn't seem to see the entire field, isn't going through his progressions, and locks in on his target too soon. That has to change.

The afterthoughts

Elijah Arroyo, TE

Is he even on the roster? For a guy touted as a pass-catching tight end, he sure doesn't catch many passes. Now, in his defense, I will say that to catch a ball, someone has to throw the ball in your direction. So far, he's had two targets through five games. It's hard to believe the Seahawks drafted this guy in the second round, when Harold Fannin (18 catches, three TDs so far) was still on the board.

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